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Saturday, November 29, 2014

#76: Assassin's Creed: Rogue: A Change in Perspective

All the
Shin Megami Tensei games on my queue have been completed, for now. I
think it is time to get back to basics with a true Press Start to
Discuss column. Fortunately for me, Ubisoft has seen fit to continue
their pattern of yearly Assassin's Creed releases. I do not know
exactly what it is about that franchise, but it strikes the right
balance between interesting game mechanics and noticeable flaws that
it makes for extremely fascinating discussion, in my opinion. There
are always lessons, both good and bad, to be learned from them. Now
that Assassin's Creed: Rogue has been released, this week will be
dedicated to analyzing it in my signature style. But before we begin,
I would like to make clear that I am assume some level of general
knowledge regarding the Assassin's Creed franchise. Further, this
article will remain spoiler-free, since the game is still very new.
Having said that:

One of
the central premise of Assassin's Creed: Rogue is that it twists the
typical dynamic of the franchise, where players typically take the
role of a notable Assassin against the Templar Order. Rather, in this
instance, the player character is someone who is trained as an
Assassin. However, this character, Shay Patrick Cormack, later
abandoned the Assassin Brotherhood after a series of traumatic
events, joining the ranks of the Templars. Though parts of the game
feels like any other Assassin's Creed adventure, particularly Black
Flag, there are a number of ways mechanics are altered such that the
player can feel what it is like to be a Templar, going against
trained Assassins (aka Player Characters). It is these mechanical
twists that I wish to discuss, because they provide the basis for how
Rogue differentiates itself.

One of
the first, and most obvious, way in which it does that is through the
ambushes that are found throughout the open world. When exploring
many of the major settlements in the game, like New York, players may
begin to hear whispers from somewhere nearby. This is an indicator
that an enemy is lying in wait for an ambush. Turning on Eagle Vision
during this time will display a compass similar to the one from
previous Assassin's Creed games' multiplayer modes. The compass
points to the direction of the would-be predator. Getting closer to
the enemy will result in the compass's arrow getting wider, and
likewise in the reverse direction. Given this knowledge, the player
must choose between staying away or trying getting the drop on their
wannabe assassin. Failure to do either of these things will result in
a successful ambush, and the loss in a great deal of health.
Ultimately, this mechanic helps players understand just what it is
like for Templars to walk around, constantly in fear of an assassin
ambush. Traveling around openly becomes more difficult, and players
need to be vigilant and aware of their surroundings.

The
second inversion of mechanics exists in the sea-faring mechanics,
which came right from Assassin's Creed: Black Flag largely unchanged.
As was the case in Black Flag, performing illegal actions at sea will
increase the player's notoriety, GTA-style. However, instead of
bounty hunters going on the offensive, it will be Assassin vessels
that pursue the player. Rather than engage in ship-to-ship combat,
Assassin ships will ram into the player's ship, The Morgan, and
attempt to board it. Though these enemies are just the same types of
foes the player would fight on the high seas, they are given the
distinct advantage. This is because the player is robbed of the
initiative they would normally be afforded in a boarding section,
unable to fire guns and pick foes off before the boarding process.
Furthermore, the enemy stuns the player's crew during the attack with
smoke, delaying the counterattack. The end result is a greatly
increased chance for loss of crew members, heightening the danger of
attacking ships in the open. As a whole, this offers a taste for what
it is like to be on the other side of the boarding process.

Another
interesting way that Rogue shifts perspectives on old mechanics is
the Assassin Intercept side-missions. In previous Assassin's Creed
games, starting with Assassin's Creed 2, there were a number of
pigeon coops scattered throughout the open world. The courier pigeons
within had messages which the player could use to activate optional
assassination side-quests. Rogue changes this paradigm slightly.
Since the protagonist is a Templar, not an Assassin, he has no reason
to hunt down these targets. However, he has much reason to keep them
alive. When he comes across a courier pigeon, he can capture it and
steal the message written on it. At that point, the Assassination
Intercept begins. Once the would-be target is located, Shay has a
certain amount of time to kill all of the Assassins going after
him/her before they begin their attack. If he fails, he will need to
resort to defending the target as they are bombarded by all the
remaining Assassins. Again, this is interesting because it takes an
old mechanic and allows the player to experience it from a new
viewpoint.

Even the
assassinations play out differently than they usually do. In most
Assassin's Creed games, the player will take a target unaware. In
story, the intended victim is not aware that they are currently being
pursued until the player reveals themselves. That way, the onus is on
the player to plan out their approach so that they kill the given
target and advance the plot. Rogue tends not to do this. More often
than not, the Assassins that the protagonist goes after are well
aware that they are about to be attacked soon. As a result, these
encounters feel more like boss battles than anything. Each target has
an ambush waiting for Shay, dependent on their expertise. It is up to
Shay to overcome these ambushes, completing his objective.

And that
ultimately ties into why Assassin's Creed: Rogue is so fascinating.
The designers were not content to just allow players to go through
the motions, just for the other faction. Rather, the mechanics are
tailored to the concept of an Assassin going "rogue" and joining the
Templars. It explores how the same tasks are different when taken
from the another perspective. Even though the controls and overall
framework are still the same as they were in Black Flag, the
differences are enough such that the feel of Rogue is wholly unique
in the context of the franchise. It is one of the more interesting
explorations of alternate viewpoints that I have seen. While it will
not attract new fans to the franchise, Assassin's Creed: Rogue does
well to offer a fresh take on old concepts.